The Minnesota Twins were the first MLB team to submit a winning bid for a player from overseas. That has apparently sent ripple effects throughout the league as more Asian players - Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Soo Kim - are expected to have many suitors.
According to the latest rumors, Maeda, who asked his incumbent team, the Hiroshima Carp, to post him recently, will indeed be posted by the club this winter. Jason Coskrey of Yahoo Japan was the first to report the news. Ben Badler of Baseball America adds that he expects the Carp to set the bidding at the maximum posting fee of $20 million.
Maeda, 27, was nearly posted last offseason, but the Carp decided to keep him for another year. The right-hander is 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 1,233 strikeouts in 218 games throughout his eight-year career in Japan.
He projects as a mid- to back-of-rotation starter and the Arizona Diamondbacks are rumored to be one of the MLB clubs interested in signing him. He's been regarded as one of the best pitchers in Japan, as was fellow pitcher Masahiro Tanaka before he signed with the New York Yankees two years ago.
In the Korean Baseball Organization, (KBO), rumors indicate outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim is garnering a ton of interest from MLB teams. Daniel Kim of KBS Sports reports that Kim has "multiple contract offers" and Yoo Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency says Kim has "concrete offers" but has declined to reveal from which teams.
Kim, 27, has spent his entire 10-year career with the Doosan Bears and enjoyed a career campaign in 2015. He batted .326/.438/.541 with 103 runs scored, 28 home runs and 121 RBI. His run, home run and RBI totals were career-highs and his stat line was his best since the 2009 season.
Kim is not subjected to the posting process because he is a free agent, unlike Maeda, who is still under contract with the Carp. The Oakland Athletics, according to Jee-ho, are "taking a long look" at Kim and could be one of his top suitors.
Stay tuned for updates on both players as teams could begin to bid for Maeda and others may get further in the negotiating process with Kim, whose agent is expected to attend the Winter Meetings.
